Guess Who I Brought Home!
by Adams7
Summary: Garrus Vakarian and Alice Shepard survived the Reapers, but when Garrus' family comes to visit, something unexpected drives a wedge between Garrus and his sister, and threatens to tear Garrus and Alice apart. Sequel to "One of Those Relationships" and "The End of All Things"
1. Unexpected

**A/N: Um… Hello? Are any of my followers from "One of Those Relationships" and "The Talk" still around? I know I have at least one person from before still following but I get the feeling that several of you weren't too happy with my decision to make "The End of All Things" M!Shep/Ashley and you just decided to skip over that one. Well I strongly suggest you go back and read it anyways (although this little fic can be read without it and it should be noted that I wrote it before I'd played Leviathan). Not only does it establish what happened to the Reapers but it also foreshadows what is in store for Alice, Garrus, John and the others in my upcoming fic "Taken" and its sequel. If you hate M!Shep/ Ashley, then never fear, all the remainder of the sequels to "One of Those Relationships" will be labeled FemShep/Garrus so M!Shep/Ash won't be stealing the spotlight for an entire fic anymore (although Ashley will be a major character going forwards). And if you just hate Ashley, well… I'm sorry to hear that and I hope that you'll give my stories a chance anyways. (Who knows? Maybe I'll get you to like Ashley!)**

**On a somewhat related note, school's begun so I'm going to be a bit slower on the posting and updating of stories (hence why it took me over a month to get this done). But I swear to you, I WILL get this series done! I won't let this go the way of my Dragon Age and Infamous fics!**

** Alright, enough of this super-long Author's Note. ON WITH THE SHOW!**

Guess Who I Brought Home!

1: Unexpected

"Are you sure you're okay with meeting my family Alice?" Garrus asked with concern.

Alice smiled "Garrus, I love you and I want this to work. You've already met my parents; it's only fair that I meet yours."

Garrus sighed "I know it's just… I'm not sure how my dad will react to our relationship." When he'd first told his father about him and Alice, he didn't really react to the news, he just seemed to accept the fact and move on. Granted that had also been when the Reapers were bearing down on their heads and he and Alice hadn't been nearly as serious as they were now. "I-I don't- I just want this to go right."

Alice leaned up and kissed the scarred side of Garrus' face, "It will, don't worry."

Garrus' mandibles spread into a smile when he heard someone gagging behind him. His smile immediately turning into a frown, Garrus turned to glare at Alice's twin John as he pretended to gag. Realizing he had Garrus and Alice's attention, John smirked. "Just wanted to remind you that you weren't alone."

Alice glared at her brother "Don't you have a pregnant wife you should be watching?"

John winced "Yeah, she's… not in the best of moods right now. I thought it might be best if I let her cool off."

"What's wrong this time?" Garrus asked "She having another one of her mood swings?"

John winced again "That's one way to describe it…"

"JOHN! WHERE'S MY BBQ STEAK WITH CHOCOLATE SYRUP AND APPLESAUCE ON TOP?!" Ashley demanded from the car.

John groaned "FOR THE LAST TIME ASH! WE'RE AT THE _SPACEPORT_! THEY DON'T_ HAVE_ BBQ STEAK WITH CHOCOLATE SYRUP AND APPLESAUCE ON TOP!"

"WELL THAT'S WHAT I'M CRAVING AND IF I DON'T GET IT SOON, SOMEBODY'S GONNA PAY!"

"Maybe you should take her home John," Alice suggested "Before she gets us arrested by C-sec for public disturbance."

John nodded "Alright, you have a point. We still on for dinner on Wednesday?"

"Sure," Garrus replied "Are your parents still coming?"

"JOHN!" Ashley shouted.

"I'M COMING!" John shouted back before nodding to Garrus "Yeah, maybe you could bring your family too Garrus, provided things haven't exploded by then that is."

Garrus nodded "We'll see."

"JOHN!" Ashley called again.

"HAVE SOME PATIENCE GODAMNIT!" John shouted to Ashley.

"PATIENCE?! I'M NINE MONTHS PREGNANT YOU- Ohhh…"

John's eyes widened "'Oh'? 'Oh' what? What's wrong?"

"I think my water broke…"

John became panicked "_WHAT_?! BUT YOU'RE NOT DUE FOR ANOTHER TWO WEEKS! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…"

"Maybe you should go John…" Alice suggested

"Right! DON"T WORRY HONEY, I'M COMING!" John cried as he burst into a full-on sprint to the car.

After a second, Garrus shook his head. "How much do you want to bet she's faking it?"

Alice grinned "Without a doubt. She's going to drive John insane by the time the baby arrives."

They continued waiting for the transport Garrus' parents and sister were on to arrive for several more minutes. Garrus' mother suffered from a turian disease known as Corpralis Syndrome, which affected the brain, eventually shutting the body down. Her condition had been deteriorating over the years and it was only thanks to a new salarian treatment that she starting to recover. The most recent news Garrus had received was that she had made a comeback and was expected to make a full recovery. Garrus' family was not incredibly wealthy, and the treatment had been expensive. It was only thanks to Mordin giving the program some valuable data at Garrus' request that they were able to afford sending Garrus' mom to Sur'kesh for treatment, where she would spend the duration of the Reaper War. Garrus' father and sister had remained on Palaven until the Reapers attacked. Garrus had never heard the details of how they managed to escape and frankly, he didn't want to.

Finally, several minutes later, Alice nudged Garrus "Is that them?"

Garrus looked where Alice was pointing. Leaving with the other new arrivals was an elderly turian couple wearing the same markings as Garrus. "Yeah,"

Garrus waved his parents down, smiling broadly. Garrus' father looked almost identical to his son, except for the fact that he lacked the scaring on his right cheek. Garrus' mom was smaller and slimmer than her husband and son, although anyone who would even think to call her frail would find that the turian woman could beat them to the brink of death with ease.

Garrus and Alice walked over to the elder Vakarians. "Hey Mom, Dad," Garrus said, shaking his father's hand and giving his mother a hug before taking their luggage for them.

Alice smiled and held out her hand "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Vakarian, I'm Alice. It's nice to finally meet you."

There was tense pause that seemed to last forever as Garrus' father eyed Alice up and down, his face expressionless. Then, his voice stern he said, "Is that anyway to greet your in-laws?" his mandibles twitched into a smile.

Alice and Garrus both breathed a sigh of relief when Garrus' father and mother both hugged her. Garrus coughed "We… uh… haven't actually discussed marriage yet dad."

"Why not?" Garrus' mother asked innocently "You both seem quite happy together."

"Well… um…" Garrus stammered "We… uh…"

Alice answered for him "What he means Mrs. Vakarian is that I don't like rushing into these things. We've agreed to let our relationship progress naturally."

Garrus' mother seemed to consider this for a moment "I understand, and please dear, call me Minera."

Alice smiled "Sure," she turned to Garrus' father "Um… what should I call you?"

"Vakarian's fine," Garrus' father said "it might get a little confusing otherwise."

Garrus groaned; he knew what was coming…

Alice frowned "I'm sorry, confusing how?"

Minera smiled knowingly "Oh didn't Garrus tell you? His full name is Garrus Aeitus Vakarian _Jr_."

Garrus sighed, "_Mom…_"

Alice grinned at Garrus "A little embarrassed big guy?"

"Don't start," Garrus mumbled. He looked around, searching for his sister. "Where's Sol? I don't see her." He asked, eager to change the topic.

Vakarian smiled "You weren't the only one to find love during the war. She's busy trying to convince her boyfriend that you won't bite his head off."

Garrus frowned "I'm not _that_ bad with Sol's boyfriends am I?"

Vakarian nodded "No but he says you two know one another and that you're… ehem… not_ exactly_ the best of friends."

Garrus' brow furrowed "What do you mean? Who is he?"

Before Vakarian could answer, Garrus saw a female turian with his markings dragging a male turian with lavender markings on his mandibles along behind her. "Come on," Solana was saying to her companion "It'll be fine."

The male turian did not seem convinced "I don't know Sol, I really don't think he'll be happy to see-" the turian froze when he realized Garrus had already noticed him "Fuck."

Garrus' blood boiled over as he recognized the turian. Solana dragged him over to them and said "Hey Gar, this is my boyfriend Lan-"

"Lantar Sidonis." Garrus growled out

Sidonis fidgeted, not meeting Garrus' harsh stare "Uh… Hey Garrus…" he said nervously "Long time no see…"


	2. Awkward

2: Awkward

Alice looked back and forth between Garrus and Sidonis. The trip from the spaceport to the hotel Garrus' family would be staying at had been long and silent; the tension between them was so thick you would have needed a high-precision laser to cut through it. Neither Garrus nor Sidonis had spoken a word, or even _looked_ at each other for that matter. Minera, trying to ease the tension, asked Alice a bunch of questions about what she did in the Alliance, what she liked, details about her life, etcetera, etcetera. Seeing as Alice lacked her brother's fame, she gladly decided to answer all her queries. When they finally arrived at the hotel, Garrus grabbed Solana's arm and lagged behind.

"You go on ahead," he told his parents "I need to have a word with Sol."

Alice noticed how Sidonis lingered until he received an encouraging nod from Solana.

Garrus glanced at Alice "You can go on in; we'll just be a minute." Alice crossed her arms over her chest and cocked an eyebrow. Garrus sighed "Fine, you can stay."

Solana chuckled "Wow, someone who can _actually_ get my thick-headed brother to stand down. I'm impressed"

Alice smiled at Solana and opened her mouth to make some clever reply when Garrus growled out "Don't you act like nothing's wrong! You're not slipping out of this."

Solana cocked a brow-plate at her brother "Slipping out of what? Is there some stupid rule that says I can't have a boyfriend?"

"When that 'boyfriend' happens to be _Lantar Sidonis_ then yes!" Garrus growled "What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing with him?"

Solana cocked a brow-plate, her mandibles twitching into a faint smirk "What do you _think_ I'm doing with him?"

Garrus was clearly caught off guard "What- that's not- You know what I mean!"

"No, I don't." Solana said sharply, all humor gone from her. "I fail to see the problem with my dating Lantar."

Garrus' eyes narrowed "You 'fail to see the problem'?! Do you have _any_ idea what he _did_ to me?!"

"You mean the whole 'getting captured by the Blue Suns and being tortured until he agreed to help them' thing?" Solana said, crossing her arms over her chest "He might have mentioned it once or twice."

Alice blinked, she hadn't heard about him being tortured. Garrus however, seemed to ignore this new information as he snarled "Then _why_ are you with him?"

Solana stood her ground. "Why are you with Alice?"

Garrus' eyes widened, surprised "What's that supposed to mean?"

Solana turned to Alice "Lantar told me what happened, how you pushed him out of the way when Garrus tried to kill him and how you were hit instead. So why, after he nearly _killed_ you, are you dating my brother."

Alice crossed her arms over her chest and met Solana's gaze "Garrus hitting me wasn't his fault. He didn't know I was there when he pulled the trigger. And besides," Alice smiled at Garrus "I love him, and love sometimes means you have to forgive."

Solana nodded and turned back to Garrus "There's your answer."

Garrus bristled "You _LOVE_ him?!"

"Yes, I do." Solana said sharply "And if you can't accept that, then we have nothing more to talk about." With that she turned away and marched into the hotel.

Garrus just stood there for a moment, fuming before turning to Alice "Can you believe her?!" He raged "She loves him! She loves Sidonis! Doesn't she even care that he almost got me killed?!"

Alice grimaced "Uh… sorry to point this out to you big guy, but you almost got Sidonis killed too."

"He deserved it!" Garrus snarled "He _betrayed_ me! He's the reason ten good men are dead! DEAD!"

"He's also the reason I'm alive." Alice pointed out "If he hadn't led you and John to that clinic and helped stabilize me, I'd be dead right now."

Garrus seemed to deflate. "But…"

Alice didn't let him finish. "Look, you're obviously a little stressed out right now. I'll go and tell them you need some time and that we'll meet them for lunch tomorrow. You go and wait in the car."

Seeing that this was a fight he could not win, Garrus' shoulders slumped and he walked away towards the car. Alice sighed and headed into the hotel. Solana had gone straight to Sidonis and was currently talking to him in hushed tones. Vakarian was at the manager's desk, getting their room keys with Minera at his side. Taking a reassuring breath, Alice made her way over to the elder Vakarians.

"Hey, Minera, Vakarian?" She said causing them to turn to her "Garrus is a little… tired so we're heading home."

Vakarian eyed her suspiciously "Is that so?"

Alice nodded "Yeah, how about we meet up for lunch tomorrow?"

Vakarian continued to study her for a moment before speaking "Dear, do you mind waiting here for a bit? I need to speak with Alice."

Minera nodded knowingly. "Of course."

Vakarian placed a hand on Alice's shoulder and led her to an unoccupied corner of the lobby "This is about Lantar isn't it?"

Alice nodded "I'm sorry, I thought Garrus had finally moved past it. I guess I was wrong."

Vakarian nodded, looking away "He always knew how to hold a grudge, Garrus never just 'moves on'." He turned his gaze back to Alice "He called me you know. When he was trapped on the end of that bridge." Alice's eyebrows rose; she had not known that. "He told me everything that had happened to him, including Sidonis' betrayal." He shook his head "Imagine my surprise when I learned who Lantar was."

Alice hesitated "If you don't mind me asking, how did you meet Sidonis?"

Vakarian glanced in the direction of Sidonis and Solana "He saved Solana…"

…

Vakarian dragged Solana up the stairs. "Come on, we need to get to the evac!"

"I'm hobbling as fast as I can Dad!" Solana snarled cursing the Brute that had broken her leg. "Where's the shuttle?"

"Just up ahead." Vakarian said as they reached the top of the stairs. Pushing open the door at the top, they stumbled into the ruined street. They were assailed on all sides by the sounds of gunfire and screaming, as the Reapers burned the city. There, in the center of the road was the shuttle, refugees already piling into it.

"Come on," Vakarian said, pulling Solana along toward their escape. When they reached the shuttle however, a turian soldier stopped them "I'm sorry, there's no more room."

Vakarian snarled "You're just going to leave us?! My daughter's hurt!"

The soldier shook his head sadly "We're pushing maximum capacity as it is, we won't be able to take off if we let you on. There's another evac shuttle on the way. It should be here in a few minutes."

Vakarian was never one to plead, but he refused to just give up "We won't last a few minutes, the Reapers are almost here! Please, at least take my daughter."

The soldier looked like he was about to protest when someone spoke up from inside the shuttle "She can take my spot."

Vakarian looked up to see a slim light-plated turian with lavender markings on his mandibles shove his way out of the shuttle. The soldier smiled faintly at the man willing to sacrifice his spot for another. "Alright, get her aboard."

Solana stared to protest as the soldier took her from her father. "What? No, Dad! I'm not leaving you behind!"

Vakarian smiled at his daughter as she was lifted into the shuttle "Give your mother and Garrus my love. Goodbye Solana."

Solana continued to protest as the shuttle doors started to close. The soldier tossed Vakarian his gun as he climbed into the shuttle. "There's another evac not far from here. If you run you might still make it in time!"

Vakarian nodded and watched the shuttle lift off. He turned to the turian who had given up his seat for Solana. "Thank you,"

The turian glanced away "It was the least I could do." He mumbled.

Vakarian looked back to the shuttle as it started to shoot off into the sky…

Then a Reaper's beam struck it.

It had been a glancing blow, but it was enough to knock the shuttle around, damaging the engines. Vakarian watched in horror as the shuttle spun out of control and crashed further down the road. "SOLANA!" Vakarian cried as he rushed to the wreckage of the shuttle, the turian with lavender markings trailing behind him.

When he got to the shuttle, several people who had survived the crash were climbing out, nursing their wounds. Vakarian didn't see Solana among them and turned to the wreck. The shuttle had flipped over, landing on its top, and crashed into a wall, covering half of the wreckage in rubble with its engine on fire, ready to blow at any moment. Vakarian climbed into the wreckage, dropping the rifle the turian soldier had given him, freeing his hands to pull rubble aside while frantically calling Solana's name. He lifted a large piece of rubble aside and found the crushed body of the turian soldier.

"Hey!" Vakarian turned to see the turian with lavender markings pointing back the way they'd come where a swarm of husks was rushing toward them. "We got company!"

Vakarian snarled but continued his search. He was about to move another piece of rubble aside when the other turian grabbed his arm. "I'm a medic, let me find her! You keep those husks off of me!"

Vakarian growled but let the younger turian take his place. He picked up the rifle and started firing at the husks, his anger fueling every shot. Nobody harmed his family. Nobody. He didn't know how long he had kept the husks at bay, some of the less severely wounded soldiers and refugees picking up firearms to help him, all he knew was that Solana depended on him, and he refused to fail. Wave after wave, he fired at the husks, every shot a kill, and the husks just kept on coming.

Suddenly, a roar tore through the gunfire "I. AM. _**KROGAN**_!"

Vakarian saw a white blur as a young krogan in white armor charged past them and into the hoard of husks, shotgun blasting away. Vakarian watched in amazement as the krogan almost single-handedly drove back the husks, roaring taunts and challenges all the while. Vakarian turned back to the shuttle to see Solana held in the turian with lavender markings arms.

Rushing to his daughter, Vakarian pulled her into a hug. "Sol, are you alright? Are you hurt? Spirits I thought I'd lost you!"

Solana lightly punched her father "Dad stop it, I'm fine."

Vakarian released Solana and turned to the turian who had saved her "I cannot thank you enough."

The turian fidgeted, not meeting Vakarian's eyes. "W-We should get these people moving to the next evac."

Vakarian nodded "What's your name son?"

The turian visibly hesitated before responding "Sidonis, Lantar Sidonis."

…

"… He tended to Solana's wounds and carried her all the way to the next evac. We managed to get off-world and spent the remainder of the war on a quarian refugee ship. During that time, despite his attempts to avoid us, Solana continued to try and talk to Lantar. She knew about what he'd done to Garrus and wanted to know why he did it and then turned around and saved her." Vakarian shook his head "I'll admit, when I learned who he was I had almost wanted to shoot him myself on the spot. I'm glad I refrained from doing so. Solana managed to get him to open up and he told us in… vivid… detail what the Blue Sun had done to make him cooperate with them."

"And you just accepted his word as truth?" Alice asked.

Vakarian shook his head "No, of course not. But I'm an experienced old C-Sec officer, and I like to think that I know when people are lying, and Lantar… he most certainly was not." Vakarian turned his gaze to Solana and Sidonis who were still deep in conversation "He's stronger than he looks, even when they… he refused to give in, not even when they started _scaling_ him did he submit."

Alice's eyes widened and she looked at Sidonis. She may not be a complete expert on turian physiology, but she knew enough to know that scaling a turian was the equivalent of skinning a human. "What broke him?"

Vakarian's eyes darkened "Sometimes, the worst sort of pain isn't purely physical. At C-Sec I saw a lot of cases like what happened to him and it still horrifies me."

Alice didn't need any more explanation. She decided to change the topic "How did he and Solana…?"

"Become a couple?" Vakarian finished. "I'm still not sure. I don't believe it came about because Lantar saved her, nor do I think it was a result of pity on her behalf, I think it just… happened." Vakarian smiled wistfully "That's often seems to be how love comes about isn't it?"

Alice nodded, her thoughts immediately drifting to her and Garrus. She looked back at Vakarian "Why haven't you told Garrus about the torture and how he saved Solana?"

Vakarian sighed "Lantar asked us not to. I don't know why but for some reason he doesn't want Garrus to know."

Alice frowned "Odd,"

Vakarian nodded "I know, that's why I'm telling you, not Garrus. I'd appreciate it if refrained from telling him. I believe Lantar wishes to do it himself when he is ready."

Alice nodded "Of course." She said, though deep down, she knew that this would only make things more difficult between Garrus and Sidonis.


	3. Tension

3: Tension

"So how'd it go?" John asked over the vid call.

Alice sighed; she and Garrus had just returned to the apartment they shared after a long drive smothered in a heavy silence. "Oh fine. The good news is that his parents seem to like me and approve of our relationship. The bad news is that his sister Solana is dating Lantar Sidonis."

There was a brief pause before John burst out laughing. "_Seriously_?"

"It's not funny John…"

"It kind of is." John said before collapsing into another fit of laughter.

Alice sighed. Ever since the Reaper War had ended and John had learned he was going to be a father, he'd become much more vibrant. Not that Alice had minded at first; during the war her brother had lost that twinkle in his eyes that had been ever present since they were kids; a sign that, under the intimidating exterior of Commander Shepard there was a fun, caring man. Alice had been glad to see that part of her twin come to the surface again, but after eight months of "fun John" she was starting to get a little annoyed.

"Are you done?" She asked in exasperation.

"Not yet," John continued laughing for another minute at least before finally quieting down. "Okay…" John said between breaths "…now… I'm done…"

"Good." Alice relayed to John what had happened between Garrus and Solana and told him what Vakarian had revealed to her regarding Sidonis and how he'd saved Solana.

John seemed to digest this information for a moment before asking "So what do you want me to do?"

"Just use that silver tongue of yours if I can't get through to him." Alice said

John nodded "Sure, where's Garrus now?"

Alice shook her head "Beats me, he mentioned something about groceries before storming out."

John cocked an eyebrow "'Groceries'? _Garrus_?"

Alice frowned "You lost me."

John shook his head "Garrus just doesn't seem to me like one to go grocery shopping." He smirked "You two are going domestic."

Alice crossed her arms over her chest "You're one to talk."

"Yeah but _I _have an excuse." John replied, leaning back with a smug look on his face.

Alice rolled her eyes "You're a child."

"Yep." John quipped. Alice heard Ashley distantly yelling on John's end. John side "I think Ash is calling me. I'll talk to you soon Alice." With that he cut the connection, leaving Alice staring at a blank screen.

Garrus arrived back home roughly a half-hour later, carrying a half dozen bags in his arms. When Alice moved to help him he waved her off. "I thought I'd make you dinner tonight."

Alice cocked an eyebrow; normally they just made their own dinners, what with the whole different amino acids thing and all. "What's the occasion?"

Garrus grinned at her as he opened the refrigerator and started putting away the groceries. "How about to celebrate my father approving of our relationship?"

Alice smiled back; she had almost forgotten about that in the drama of Sidonis' appearance. "Well, I guess that_ is_ something to celebrate." She said slyly, flashing Garrus a mischievous glance as she reached past him, putting her body incredibly close to his, and stopped him from putting the ice cream in the fridge. Her face was mere centimeters from his own as she whispered in his ear "The ice cream goes in the _freezer_ big guy. You don't want it to _melt_ do you?"

She pulled back, smiling seductively and put the tub in his hands. Garrus' mandibles were fluttering so much that a small part of Alice wondered if they would fall off. Still smiling, Alice walked away, swaying her hips. "I'll let you get to work." She called back.

She chuckled a little as she heard Garrus groan "You're a cruel, cruel, woman."

Alice knew the real reason Garrus was making her dinner was because he wanted to get their minds off of the day's troubling events. She decided not to talk to him about Sidonis that night; she could always do that tomorrow. The dinner itself was alright, which when it comes to Garrus' cooking was practically a glowing review. What followed however, took her completely by surprise.

They were sitting across from one another at their little table, the lights dimmed for a more romantic atmosphere. They had both just finished their respective meals and were talking about nothing in particular when Garrus said "So… my mom got me thinking…"

"Anything in particular?" Alice asked light-heartedly, even though inside her heart had started to beat a mile a minute. _Please tell me he's not doing what I think he's doing._

Garrus smiled faintly at her, oblivious to her internal distress. "Yeah… she got me thinking about… about us…" he reached across the table and took her hands, "You see, it's not exactly normal in turian culture for two people so… in love… that they're practically mates already to not be…" He glanced away "I… I guess what I'm asking is…"

"Garrus…" Alice started but he cut her off.

"Please, let me finish." Garrus locked his striking blue eyes with Alice's own. "Alice Shepard… will you marry me?"

Alice looked deeply into Garrus' eyes. She wanted to say yes. She wanted more than anything to say yes, and she could see in Garrus' eyes how much he wanted her to say yes too.

"No."

Garrus visibly deflated, his shoulder's sagging, his face falling from a hopeful expression to one of despair. "Why?" he asked.

Alice sighed and looked away, unable to meet the crushed look in Garrus' eyes. "It's… it's too soon. I'm not ready, _we're_ not ready." She looked at their hands, still entwined in one another. "I'm sorry Garrus."

He sighed as he released her hands and stood up, taking their dishes to the sink. For several minutes, the only sound was the running of the water as he washed the plates. Finally, Garrus turned back to her, his expression rigid. "When?" he asked.

Alice frowned "Excuse me?"

"When will you be ready?" Garrus said "It's been eight months Alice; I don't want to wait until the universe ends for us get married."

Alice rested her head in her hand "Garrus, we can't rush this. There's a _reason_ why fifty percent of human marriages end in divorce. People just jump into things without working out all their problems."

Garrus threw up his hands in frustration "Problems? What problems? I _love_ you Alice! More than I've loved anything in my life!"

Alice snickered "Really? Even calibrations?"

Garrus glared at her "I know what you're doing and it won't work. Why are you so reluctant to go through with this? Don't you love me too?"

Alice stood up; her temper stroked now "Of course I love you! I just don't want to ruin this by going too fast!"

Garrus sighed "You know what? Forget it." With that he stormed off, leaving Alice in the kitchen, alone and with the foreboding feeling like she had just seen the beginnings of a rift between them.

…

They met Garrus' family at Apollo Café for lunch. Garrus and Alice had hardly spoken to one another all day and barely managed to put on a happy act when they met them. Unfortunately, Solana had dragged Sidonis to the lunch with her. Alice could instantly see that Garrus had not cooled overnight, and she hadn't had a chance to talk with him about it. Both elder Vakarians seemed to notice this and did their best to keep the tension from breaking. As they picked a larger table at the Café that overlooked the Presidium Alice was keenly aware of the stares they were getting, though whether this was because of the fact that she was the only human in the midst of a group of turians or because people recognized her and Garrus she had no clue.

"It seems we're getting a little attention." Minera noted as they sat down.

Alice sighed "Yeah… sorry about that."

Vakarian gave her a hard stare "You have nothing to apologize for. If they don't like seeing a human with a bunch of turians than that's their problem."

Alice smiled weakly "I think it's more-"

"Oh. My. Goddess!" Alice winced as she heard someone squeal. Turning around, she saw their waitress, a young asari woman with deep blue skin, had come over to take their order when she saw Alice.

"You're Alice Shepard!" she squeaked, her eyes as wide as saucers. When Alice nodded she turned to Garrus "Then you must be Garrus Vakarian!" Garrus mumbled out an affirmative. The waitress squealed again "Oh my Goddess, I can't believe it! Alice Shepard and Garrus Vakarian, and I'm your waitress!" she squealed, even louder than before.

"Oh sure, don't mind the rest of us here." Solana said with a little smirk.

Alice sighed "Could we please just order our food?"

"Oh sorry, of course!" the waitress said, taking out a holo-notepad. "What will you be having?"

Alice breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the menu "Alright, I guess I'll have the-"

"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!" The waitress exclaimed, interrupting Alice "Do you think you could get me your brother's autograph? That would be _so_ awesome!"

Alice's eye twitched; she was getting really annoyed now. "_Sure_, I'll get you an autograph." Alice said darkly, her voice dripping with venom. "Do you want anything else? A lock of his incredibly short hair perhaps?"

The waitress squealed "_Really?!_ That would be _great_! I'm going to go tell all my friends right now!" Without a second to spare, the waitress was off, going to brag to her other stereotypical fangirl groupies.

Alice groaned as the waitress vanished in a blue blur. "Thank God that's over."

"Does that happen a lot?" Vakarian asked.

Alice put her head in her hands "You have no idea."

She heard chuckling and looked up to see Solana was the source "I'm sorry," She said once she had regained control of herself "But that's just too funny."

Alice's lips twitched in a smirk "If you think that's funny, you should see what happens when John's around."

"Let me guess," Sidonis said, speaking up for the first time that day "He gets mobbed with a horde of adoring fans and you have to fight your way out?"

Alice smiled and was about to reply with "Something like that" when Garrus growled.

"Don'tyou_ dare _speak to her!" he snarled, causing Sidonis to recoil.

Alice glared at Garrus "I'm sorry, since when do you decide who I talk to?"

Garrus turned to her, anger burning in his eyes. "It's _Sidonis_! Why would you want to waste your time with that piece of shit? He's not worth the air he breathes!"

Alice's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to speak when Solana stood up. "That's too far!" She snapped "I get you have a problem with Lantar, but you have _no right_ to insult him like that!"

Garrus whirled on Solana "Don't you _ever_ defend him! I've been trying to understand what the hell you see in him and you know what? The only reason I can think of is that you're just doing it to spite me."

Solana laughed humorlessly "Oh _yes_, because of course _everything _revolves around _you_!"

"I never said that!" Garrus growled, getting to his feet.

"It sure sounds like it!" Solana snapped back, matching Garrus. "You think you're so great! That you're _never_ to blame! Well I'll let you in on a secret bro: Lantar isn't the reason your men are dead, _YOU_ are!"

Vakarian stood up "Garrus, Solana that is _enough_!"

Alice was keenly aware that they were drawing attention to themselves, but Garrus and Solana didn't seem to care. "What do you know? You weren't there!" Garrus raged.

"But Lantar was!" Solana countered "He told me how your men wanted to stop, to quit while they were ahead, and _YOU_ wouldn't let them!"

"I wanted to make a difference!" Garrus shot back "I didn't know what would happen!"

Solana snorted "Oh yeah, that's a _great_ excuse for getting your team _killed_!"

Garrus roared "Bitch!"

"Asshole!"

"Brat!"

"Coward!"

"Whore!"

"_Drunk_!"

A deathly silence fell over them and Alice's blood ran cold. Solana's eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth. Alice looked at Garrus and saw that he was ridged, his talons clenching so much that they pierced his hand, drawing blood. The look in Garrus' eyes was something Alice had never seen before; it was burning, furious.

Feral.

"Garrus I-" Solana started to say but Garrus cut her off with a growl.

"You know what?" he said darkly "I was wrong; you two are_ perfect_ for each other." Without another word he stormed off.

Another moment of silence passed. Alice turned her gaze from Garrus' retreating back to give Solana an accusing glare. To her credit, the turian woman looked horrified at what she'd just done. "Oh Spirits… Alice I'm so sorry I shouldn't have… I was just so angry… it just slipped out."

"Save it," Alice said, forcing her tone to remain calm "I'm not the one you need to apologize to." Solana looked away, unable to meet Alice's gaze out of shame. Alice turned to Minera and Vakarian, both of whom were looking at their daughter in shock "Listen, I'll talk to Garrus, why don't you come over to my brother's house at 6 tomorrow night for dinner? My parents will be there and I'm sure they'd love to meet you."

Minera glanced at Solana who seemed to have broken and collapsed into her chair, fighting sobs as Sidonis comforted her. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Alice nodded "Yeah, I'll talk to Garrus and if I can't get through to him, John will be able to sort this out."

Vakarian nodded "If you're sure…"

Alice sighed and rubbed her temples "I am, now if you'll excuse me, I have a very long talk coming up with Garrus." With that she turned to follow her angry boyfriend.

…

Alice was surprised to see when she got back to the car that Garrus wasn't there. He'd left a note that said he was going for a walk to clear his head and that Alice shouldn't wait up for him. Reluctantly, Alice decided to return to the apartment and wait for him there. She spent her time reading some poetry Ash had recommended to her but quickly grew bored. Not that she hated poetry or anything, but she didn't really have an appreciation for the _art_ of words as much as the storytelling. She preferred something with a good narrative and characters one got attached to over themes and symbolism. Granted most of the stories she read had those things too but she never really paid attention to them. And if there was one thing she hated above all else in literature- besides _dues ex machina_- it was writers who thought they knew everything about human nature. She remembered how when she was younger, she had to read _Lord of the Flies_ for school. Once they had finished with it, Alice took the book and her father's rifle down to the shooting range and promptly filled it with bullet holes.

She waited for several more hours for Garrus to come home. When it started getting late, Alice began to worry. It wasn't like Garrus to be gone for so long and not at least check in with her. Finally, she decided to call him. Her worry only grew when he didn't pick up. She sat around waiting for another few hours before finally deciding to go look for him. Leaving a note in case he came back while she was gone, Alice wandered around the Presidium near where they'd had lunch but she couldn't seem to find Garrus anywhere. She checked everywhere she thought Garrus could be and found nothing. She talked to anyone she could grab a hold of to ask if they'd seen Garrus; nobody had.

She was tempted to call John and ask for his help but she didn't want to bother him; he had enough on his plate looking after Ashley that she didn't need to add to his worries. So instead, she called Bailey. While she and the newly appointed Executor lacked the friendship he shared with her brother, they still were familiar enough with one another that she knew he could be counted on to find Garrus.

True enough, when she called him, Bailey answered almost immediately in his gruff voice "Alice Shepard? What can I do for you?"

"Hey Bailey," Alice said, pacing back and forth "I'm looking for Garrus, and I can't seem to find him. Anyways it's been almost eight hours and I'm getting worried do you think you could have some men keep an eye out for him."

She could practically hear Bailey cock an eyebrow. "You want me to use my authority as head of C-Sec for a personal favor? Have you considered what might happen while my men aren't at their posts? Someone could take advantage of the opportunity and-"

"Don't give me that bullshit Bailey." Alice snapped "I'm not asking you to start a manhunt; all I want is for you to tell your men to keep an eye out."

Bailey chuckled, "You're Commander Shepard's sister alright. I'll spread the word, if we see him, I'll let you know."

Alice said a quick "Thank you" before ending the call. As she continued her search, a horrible thought occurred to her and she immediately headed for the one place she had thought for certain that Garrus would never have gone: the bar.

She felt terrible for thinking it, but as she searched the bars of the Presidium Commons, she realized that it made sense. After all, yesterday combined with today's lunch had been unbelievably stressful for her. And if it was stressful for her, then it had to have been ten times worse for Garrus. Nobody could blame him if he sought to find comfort in the bottom of a bottle of turian liquor. Had it been anyone else, Alice probably wouldn't have reacted so badly but Garrus had been an alcoholic, she didn't want to risk him falling back into his addiction. She searched the bars for hours but still could not find him. She was starting to wonder if maybe she should go back to the apartment when her omni-tool beeped.

Her eyes widened when she saw it was from C-Sec. Her heart beating a mile a minute, she answered "Hello?"

"Alice Shepard?" a gruff turian voice said "You wished to know the whereabouts of Garrus Vakarian?"

Alice nodded "Did you find him?"

"Affirmative," the officer answered "He's at the Spectre shooting range."

Alice mentally kicked herself;_ of course_ he was at the shooting range, why didn't she think of that? "Thank you," She said, already moving to the nearest elevator that would take her to the embassies.

"No problem ma'am," the officer said before ending the call.

Alice impatiently road the elevator up to the embassies, anxious to talk to Garrus. She was out the elevator before the doors had opened fully and quickly headed toward the Spectre offices. Sure enough, Garrus was at the shooting range, firing at the targets with his Black Widow. He didn't turn when Alice opened the door, and waited for him to acknowledge her presence. Finally, only after he had blown the head off the target- which Alice noted had a holo of Sidonis on it- did Garrus lower his gun and turn to her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Alice crossed her arms over her chest, her temper starting to flare at his casual tone. "It's almost 1." She said sharply.

Garrus' shrugged "So?"

Alice's eyes narrowed "In the _morning_!"

Realization dawned on Garrus "Really?" when Alice nodded her groaned "Shit, I'm sorry Alice, I lost track of time."

Alice's temper was definitely burning now "You '_lost track of time_'?!" she snarled, causing Garrus to wince "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was? I've been looking for you for hours!"

Garrus held up his hands "Alright, alright, I should have called, I'm sorry, but there was no need to be concerned, I can take care of myself Alice, you know that."

Alice's control snapped "That's not what I was worried about you idiot!" She yelled "I thought you were-" she stopped herself, immediately feeling her anger dim.

Garrus frowned "You thought I was what?" when Alice didn't answer him but merely looked away Garrus snarled "You thought I was drinking again didn't you?"

Alice nodded

Now it was Garrus' turn to be angry "Damnit Alice! I haven't had a single _drop_ of alcohol in almost two years! Don't you trust me?"

Alice's temper came back with a vengeance at Garrus' accusation "Of course I trust you!" she shouted back.

"Really? Cause it doesn't sound like it to me!" Garrus roared.

"I was just worried! I know you've been under a lot of stress lately!" Alice countered.

"So you thought I couldn't handle a little stress and had to resort to drowning in liquor again?!" Garrus growled and turned his back on Alice "You know, I'm starting to wonder how this relationship can last if you don't trust me."

Alice bristled "And I'm starting to wonder how this relationship can last when you have your head stuck so far up your ass that you can't even hear me!" with that Alice turned on her heel and stormed off. As she left, she heard Garrus snarl and pick up his Widow, blowing a large hole through the target's bull's eye with a sharp _bang_.

When Garrus finally arrived back at the apartment, he found Alice packing a duffle full of clothes and toiletries. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

"I'm leaving." Alice said sharply, not looking up.

Garrus' eyes widened "What? Y-You can't just _leave_!"

"Then what do you call this?" Alice snapped, zipping the duffle shut and slinging its strap over her shoulder and heading toward the door.

Garrus moved to intercept her "Alice don't be irrational-"

Alice's biotics flared. "I'm leaving before one of us says something we'll both regret. Now get out of my way."

Garrus reluctantly moved aside, letting Alice pass without a single word. As soon as the door closed behind her, Garrus roared and kicked the wall as hard as he could. "Damnit!" Garrus swore, clutching his throbbing toes, even more furious now than he was before.

…

Ashley smiled as she and John strolled through the Presidium Gardens arm-in-arm. It was late; almost 2:00 am Earth time, but they both were having trouble sleeping and decided that a late-night stroll would do them good. Because it was also the Citadel's night cycle, the normally bright lights of the Presidium were dimmed and the simulated blue sky was replaced by a field of stars.

They sat down at a one of the benches lining the path through the trees to give Ashley a moment to rest. Smiling contently, Ashley rested her head on John's shoulder and they just enjoyed the scenery around them. The Presidium Gardens were absolutely beautiful at night. Every so often, there was a single white lamp that enveloped the surrounding flora in its glow, but for the most part, the trail was only lit by the luminescent moss and flowers from countless worlds that dotted the gardens. It was all so peaceful, so safe.

"Did you ever see yourself being here?" John asked in a soft whisper as he rested his cheek atop her head.

Ashley chuckled "You mean nine months pregnant in the most beautiful spot on the Presidium with the man I love holding me in his arms?"

"Yeah…"

"Nope." Ashley said lightly.

John cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Ashley smirked "Yeah, in my mind we were always in some shitty apartment with you catering to my every need."

John laughed "Well then, at least we got the 'me catering to your every need' part right."

Ashley lifted her head and looked her husband in his eyes, suddenly serious "Listen, John, I really am grateful to you for putting up with my behavior, I know I haven't been exactly… easy to deal with recently."

John chuckled "Only recently?"

Ashley punched his arm "Ass."

John laughed and leaned in for a kiss. Their lips were merely centimeters apart when Ashley suddenly stopped them. "Wait," she said, pulling back with a frown. "Do you hear something?"

John frowned and listened for a moment. "No."

Ash looked into the garden "It sounds like… crying." Without another word she stood, searching for the source. John followed Ashley as she led him off the main path and down one of the many side trails. Eventually, they emerged into a small clearing with dozens of flowers surrounding a pond, patches of luminescent algae floating on the surface of the placid water. There, sitting at the pool's edge, her knees drawn up to her chest, her head buried in her arms, and a duffle bag lying next to her, was Alice.

John and Ashley immediately moved to Alice's side. "Sis?" John asked gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Alice looked up and Ashley could immediately see the pain in John's eyes at the sight of her tear-streaked face. "J-John?" she said, trying to brush tears away. She looked and saw Ashley kneeling on the other side of her (no easy feat, considering her belly's bloated size.). "Ashley? W-What are you doing here?"

"We were taking a walk and thought we heard someone crying." John said "I didn't think it would be you though. What's wrong?"

Alice shook her head, looking out over the pond "I-It's nothing, Garrus and I just had a fight that's all."

John frowned "That's breaking rule number six." He muttered to himself.

Alice shot John a puzzled look "What?"

"Nothing!" John said quickly. Eager to change the topic, he asked "What was it about?"

Alice glanced back at the pond "Garrus stormed off during our lunch with his family when he and Solana got into an argument and she called him a drunk."

John's eyes widened at this. When Ashley shot him a puzzled look he mouthed: _Later_

Alice continued "He stayed out for a long time, and I started to worry that he was drinking again. Thankfully, when I found him he was at the shooting range not the bar. We… we got into an argument. Garrus accused me of not trusting him and I said he had his head stuck up his ass. I… I decided to leave and give him space before one of us said something we'd both regret. I came here to clear my head and I… and I just started crying and couldn't… couldn't stop…"

Ashley looked at John "Could you give us a minute?"

John frowned but nevertheless stood and walked pack down the trail, giving them some privacy. Ashley slowly lowered herself to the ground and sat down next to Alice. They remained there for a long time, staring out at the pond in silence.

Finally, when Ashley spoke, it was in a soft whisper. "_Flower in the crannied wall,/ I pluck you out of the crannies,/ I hold you here, root and all, in my hand, / Little flower-but if I could understand/ What you are, root and all, all in all,/ I should know what God and man is._"

Alice looked over at Ashley "Tennyson?"

Ashley nodded with a small smile "Yeah, 'Flower in a crannied wall'. Not the most original of titles I'll admit, but I still like it."

Alice looked back out over the pond "So what does that have to do with my situation?"

Ashley shook her head "Maybe nothing, I just mentioned it because of the flowers and because I like it more than his other poem 'The Flower'." She threw Alice a smile "What's your favorite flower?"

Alice was clearly caught off guard "Why do you ask?"

Ashley shrugged "Just curious. Mine's the Lily." She said, gesturing over to a tall stem with several white flowers sprouting from it "I like the red ones more though, especially the Morning Star Lily." She turned back to Alice "So? What's yours?

Alice hesitated before answering "The Berry Rose."

Ash cocked an eyebrow "Never heard of that one before."

Alice looked at her, surprised "Really? It's John's favorite flower too."

Ashley smirked "I didn't even know he _had_ a favorite flower."

Alice grinned back "Yeah, when we were little our parents were stationed on Earth for a few years. The old lady who lived next door had these lovely Azalea bushes in her yard. My favorite was this one with rich pink petals spread like a star with a streak of yellow on the top one. The old lady called it a Berry Rose. John, the sweet little kid he was before discovering how much fun it was being a brat, decided to pick some for me one day when I was very sick to cheer me up."

"What did your neighbor think about him plucking flowers from her garden?" Ashley asked with a mischievous grin "Did she get furious and beat him with her cane?"

Alice laughed "Actually, she helped him pick the flowers. She would often watch us when our parents were working."

Ashley smiled "Well, I'm going to have to torment John with this cute little moment next time we- Ooof!" she clutched at her belly.

Alice's eyes widened, "Are you okay? Should I get John?"

Ashley shook her head "No, it's fine. The little tike just kicked me in the gut is all." With a grin, she took Alice's hand and placed it on her belly "See?"

Alice frowned "I don't- Oh!" she started as the baby kicked again. "Wow, kid's got a good leg."

Ashley winced "You're telling me, I'm starting to wonder if he won't kick his way out before it's time."

Alice blinked "He?"

"Didn't John tell you?" Ashley said "I went in for an ultra-sound a few months back and we were told the baby was a boy!"

"Really? That's wonderful!" Alice said, completely forgetting her troubles for the moment.

Ashley nodded "Yeah, I have no idea how they could tell though, to me it just looked like a grainy picture of a fetus. You'd think that they would have improved ultra-sound technology by now." She added thoughtfully.

"Have you decided on a name?" Alice asked

Ashley nodded, a soft smile touching her lips "Yeah, we were think of naming him David Anderson Shepard."

A silence fell over them in memory of the deceased mentor and friend. "I think he'd have liked that." Alice said.

Ashley nodded solemnly "Yeah… Help me up would you?"

Alice helped Ashley stand, supporting the pregnant woman. "Where are you staying?" Ashley asked.

Alice shrugged "I guess I was just going to find a motel to stay in until tomorrow's dinner- well I guess it's tonight's dinner now."

Ashley shook her head "Uh uh, no way. Why don't you stay with me and John until Garrus cools down?"

Alice looked hesitant "I don't know Ash; I don't want to be a burden, especially with you so close to delivery."

Ashley slung an arm over Alice's shoulders "Nonsense! You can help around the house. I'm sure John will appreciate the assistance," Ashley shook her head "God knows he won't let me do anything." She gave Alice's shoulders a squeeze, "Besides, it'll help keep your mind off of Garrus."

Alice sighed and gave Ashley a grateful smile. "Thanks Ashley."

"Hey," Ashley said as they headed back down the path "That's what sisters are for."

**A/N: Most of the information I could find on the Berry Rose was very slim so please point it out if I got something wrong.**


	4. Dinner

4: Dinner

That evening could not arrive fast enough for Alice. She managed to keep herself busy helping John look after Ashley, but her mind still occasionally wandered to Garrus. She knew that their fight had been stupid and she shouldn't have reacted that way but she had just gotten so angry when he accused her of not trusting him. How, after everything they'd been through he could think that she didn't trust him was beyond her.

Finally, the evening arrived and Alice worked with John to prepare dinner for their guests. John's cooking ability was on par with his dancing and driving skills and Ashley had a tendency to blow things up in the kitchen (Alice had a feeling that their kid would be eating a lot of frozen dinners in the future). Alice fortunately had learned fine New Orleans cuisine from her grandparents and, although she was far from a master chef, she could actually make a meal without destroying the kitchen. Therefore, John set the table and did other tasks that did not involve going anywhere near the kitchen lest he ruin Alice's hard work. About an hour before their guests were scheduled to arrive, Garrus showed up to cook the dexto dishes. He and Alice barely looked at one another as they worked side by side in the kitchen, a heavy silence looming over them.

The food was done and the table was set by the time the rest of the guests arrived. Introductions were made and they all sat down in the dining room. Alice and Garrus hesitantly sat next to each other, Alice noticing that Solana and Sidonis were as far away from them as possible. The conversation started out pleasantly enough; Alice and John's father, Carn asked Vakarian what he did for a living and their mother Hannah inquired as to how Ashley was doing. Before long, Minera joined in and Ashley was soon smothered in questions about human pregnancies. Vakarian and Carn became engaged in a riveting conversation about their respective careers and soon were trying to one-up each other with their stories. John tried to join in but was immediately shot down by his father who said that he had done things more impressive than anything he or Vakarian had ever done and it wouldn't be fair. Reluctantly, John acquiesced and let Carn and Vakarian continue their contest, a little pout on his face. Garrus merely sat there, silently eating his food and shooting harsh glares at Sidonis while Alice waited for John to make his move.

He never got the chance.

"So Solana," Hannah said, turning to her and Sidonis "How long have you and Lantar been together?"

Alice's eyes widened and Garrus tensed as Solana shot a brief glance at her brother. "Since the War."

Alice glared at John, mouthing: _I thought you warned them!_

John looked at her hopelessly, mouthing back: _I thought you were going to!_

"Really?" Hannah said, intrigued.

"Yes," Solana smiled "In fact he-"

"Sol, please." Sidonis said.

Solana looked at Sidonis "Why shouldn't I tell him, he's going to find out anyways eventually and we need to resolve this, if he's too much of a coward to face this issue like a grown man then-"

_BANG!_

All heads at the table turned and were shocked to see that it was not Garrus, or even Alice that had slammed their hands on the table and stood up in anger, but Ashley. "That's it!"

John's eyes widened "Uh oh, mood swing alert! Duck and cover!" With that he ducked down and hid under the table.

Ashley seemed oblivious to John's actions as she fixed Solana with her patented "Williams glare". "I don't care who you are, but nobody, and I mean _nobody_ insults my friends! So shut your trap bitch!"

Sidonis jumped to his feet. "Now wait just a minute! I'll admit Solana was unnecessarily harsh but she's right!"

Garrus was next to stand "Are _you_ of all people calling _me _a coward Sidonis? _You_?" Alice had to stand up to stop Garrus from charging Sidonis.

"She's right Garrus," Sidonis said "We need to resolve this."

"Alright then," Garrus growled "Stay the fuck away from my sister!"

"That's not going to happen!" Solana said, getting to her feet as well.

"It better happen or I'll-"

"Or you'll what?" Solana snapped, cutting off Garrus' threat "Face it Garrus, I'm a grown woman now who can make her own decisions about her life. You don't control me."

"He is responsible for the deaths of ten good men!" Garrus roared "And you're _okay_ with that?"

"It's called _forgiveness_ Garrus!" Solana shot back "Maybe you should try it sometime!"

Garrus snarled "I _can't_ forgive him, not after what he did to me!"

"Really? Well then you better learn to forgive him because Lantar's staying!" Solana said sharply.

Garrus' eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

Solana straightened up "I'm saying I plan to marry Lantar."

This certainly was news to Sidonis "Y-You are?" he said, shocked but not unhappy.

"Damn right I am." Solana said, looking at Sidonis "I know the only reason you haven't asked me yet is because of my damn brother."

"YOU'RE WHAT?!" John had to climb out from under the table to help Alice keep Garrus from ripping Sidonis and Solana to shreds with his talons. So it was that he didn't notice Ashley's eyes widen as she grabbing hold of her rounded belly. "You can't be seriously considering marrying _Sidonis_?"

"Well I am." Solana said, turning back to her brother "And if you can't accept that then we have nothing more to discuss."

There was a foreboding silence before Garrus spoke, his voice cold "You are _not_ my sister."

Minera gasped while Vakarian barked "Garrus!"

Garrus whirled on his parents "Don't you go scolding me! Sidonis nearly had me _killed_! Now Solana wants to bring him into the Spirits-damned FAMILY! And _you_ don't even seem to care!"

"Garrus stop!" Alice said, seeing how he was upsetting his mother.

"And YOU!" he turned on Alice "You're protecting him! AGAIN! Why do you always protect him?!"

And just like that, Alice's full fury was ignited "I'm not protecting _Sidonis_ you moron, I'm protecting YOU!"

The shocked silence that followed was interrupted by Ashley "Oh God… please not now…"

John finally seemed to notice Ashley's distress "Ash," he said, moving to his wife's side "What's wrong?"

Ashley's eyes snapped up. "'What's wrong?' 'What's _wrong_?' MY FUCKING WATER BROKE GODDAMNIT!"

John's eyes grew as wide as saucers "WHAT?! Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! What do I do? WHAT DO I DO?!"

Ashley grabbed John's shirt and lifted him up off the ground "GET. THE. CAR! Oh God…" she dropped John and braced herself against the table "_**NOW**_!"

"Right!" John dashed from the room. Crashing could be heard coming from the kitchen "Where're my keys?! Where're my keys?! I CAN'T FIND MY KEYS!"

"Check the microwave cart!" Alice called

"Right! Ah ha, there you are!" John reappeared in the dining room "Alright Ash," he said calmly, having regained his cool "We're going to get in the car and take a quick drive to the hospital-"

"John?"

"Yeah?"

"SHUT UP AND GET MOVING!"

…

The Vakarians and the Shepards all sat around in the mess, listening to Ashley's cries. The docking bays being much closer to John and Ashley's apartment than Huerta Memorial Hospital, they had taken Ashley to the Normandy. Thankfully, Chakwas had been on the ship checking up on Joker (who had been adamantly refusing to take the ship on any missions unless under John's command and didn't want to find an apartment on the Citadel to stay in, choosing rather to stay with EDI on the ship).

Everyone's heads turned as they heard the elevator door open and Liara, Javik, Joker, EDI, and Miranda stepped out. Alice got to her feet and hugged Liara "I didn't think you and Javik would make it Liara. Weren't you supposed to be working on your research on Ilos?"

Liara smiled "I decided that we should come back to the Citadel with Ashley being so close to her delivery, we only arrived last night." At that moment a particularly loud scream erupted from the medbay, causing Liara to pale. "I-Is she alright?"

"That is just the sound of the miracle of birth." Hannah said with a smile from the table, causing Liara to pale further.

Javik spoke up "With my kind, the mother would carry several dozen fertilized eggs inside of her. When it was time for them to hatch, the larvae would eat the way out of the mother's body and feast on her flesh."

Liara glared at Javik "No they didn't, you're lying."

Javik fixed Liara with a hard stare "Am I?"

The poor asari's eyes widened "M-Maybe it's a good thing that Tali isn't here then…" she squeaked out "W-Wouldn't want to scare her…"

"How long do quarian pregnancies last anyways?" Joker asked.

"The average quarian pregnancy is measured around 15 months." EDI stated "However, because she was pregnant during the Reaper War and the stress it inflicted on her body, Tali's pregnancy will most likely last closer to 20."

"Have I ever mentioned how simultaneously creepy and awesome it is that you know almost _everything_?" Joker said.

"I do not know 'everything' Jeff; I merely have access to large amounts of data from the extra-net." EDI corrected

"Which is still freaking cool."

"Are Ashley's mother and sisters going to make it?" Hannah asked EDI.

"No, unfortunately they are currently on Earth helping rebuild and were going to come in a few days."

Alice turned to Miranda, who was wearing an elegant, form-fitting white gown instead of her normal catsuit. "I hope we didn't interrupt something important."

Miranda shook her head "The ambassador can wait; I'm not missing this for anything." She looked back at the elevator "Jacob said he and Brynn were coming. And Urdnot Wrex should be here with Councilor Bakara soon."

Sure enough, Jacob, Brynn, and their infant daughter Sabrina Shepard Taylor arrived, followed by Wrex and Bakara, carrying the bundle of blankets that hid the tiny form of little baby Mordin in her arms. Alice immediately went over to the krogan mother and the baby. She looked down at the tiny little krogan head that poked out from the blankets, his eyes closed as he slept. Once again, Alice was struck by how small Mordin was. He was already seven months old and had still yet to hit his first growth spurt; something very bad according to Bakara.

"How is he?" she asked.

Bakara shook her head "He's caught another fever, I'm afraid that I will not be able to take him back to Tuchanka if this persists."

Alice nodded sadly and stretched out a finger to stroke the baby's forehead; the hard crest still hadn't begun to take shape. Mordin stirred at her touch and opened his eyes to look at her. Alice smiled "Hey little guy," she said softly.

Several hours passed as they waited, listening to Ashley's cries and John's encouraging words (thankfully Chakwas had darkened the medbay windows so that they couldn't actually _see_ inside). Once Joker asked how long it would take for the baby to be born and Hannah had responded by telling him that she had been in labor with John and Alice for almost a week. That caused poor Liara to rush to the bathroom.

"I think I just scared that poor girl out of becoming a mother." Hannah said regretfully.

"It's okay dear," Carn said, putting an arm around his wife "I'm sure that-"

Another loud scream cut him off, followed by John saying "Come one Ash, we're almost there! Just remember the breathing exercises, just remember the-"

_SMACK!_

A moment later, John emerged from the medbay, covering his cheek with a hand. "Chakwas said I should wait until it's almost time to come back in." he said at the confused looks everyone gave him. He sighed and walked over to the table, lowering his hand to reveal a large red mark on his cheek that was already bruising. "I'd forgotten how strong an arm Ash has…"

Garrus, who had spent the entire time sulking over by the kitchen snorted. John heard him and, without a moment's hesitation, headed over to him. "Hey, Garrus," He said "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Garrus shrugged and followed John a little ways down the hall to the main battery. "What's up?" he asked casually.

John immediately fixed Garrus with a hard glare, and it wasn't _John_ anymore, now it was _Commander Shepard_. "That's all you can say after ruining a perfectly nice dinner with your parents and mine by starting a shouting match that probably sent Ash into labor ahead of schedule?"

Garrus winced "Sidonis started it."

Shepard's eyes narrowed "'Sidonis started it'? What are you, seven?!" Shepard sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Garrus I understand why you're not exactly happy that Sidonis is dating your sister but I think it's time you let it go."

Garrus growled "'Let it go'? Sidonis_ betrayed_ me! He's responsible for the deaths of-"

"-ten good men, I know. Stop sounding like a broken record." Shepard snapped, causing Garrus to recoil. "Have you ever considered that maybe there's a _reason_ why Solana and your parents have forgiven Sidonis while you still haven't? That maybe you're missing part of the picture?"

Garrus had to admit that it had crossed his mind several times. Shepard looked down the hall at where everyone was seated, talking to pass the time. "Listen, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but Alice told me something she learned from your father."

"What?" Garrus asked.

"Your father told her that Sidonis saved Solana's life on Palaven."

Garrus felt like he'd been struck. "_What_?"

Slowly, Shepard recounted how Sidonis had given up his seat on the evac shuttle for Solana, and how when the shuttle was shot down, he'd pulled her from the wreckage while Vakarian held back the Reaper forces with the survivors. When he was done talking, Shepard looked back at Garrus, and suddenly it was _John_ again, not _Commander Shepard_. "Do you want to know why, after staying angry at you for so long when you shot Alice, I seemed to suddenly forgive you?"

Garrus blinked, taken by surprise. "I thought it was because we went to get Tali."

John shrugged "Well that's part of it, but I realized something."

"What?"

"That life is too short for me to remain angry with my best friend, and if I die tomorrow, I don't want him to think that I hated him to the very end."

Garrus snorted "You want me to forgive Sidonis because he was my _friend_?"

John shook his head "I'm not talking about Sidonis."

Garrus frowned "Then who…?" realization dawned on him "You want me to forgive _Solana_?"

John sighed "She's your sister Garrus, and I know she cares for you. You don't want to remain angry at her for the rest of your life. Just trust me on this okay?"

At that moment, EDI came up to them "Commander, Chakwas wishes me to tell you that it's almost time."

John nodded and flashed Garrus a grin "Wish me luck." He said before rushing toward the medbay.

Garrus looked over at where Sidonis and Solana were sitting together, slightly apart from everyone else. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Garrus walked over to the table, ready to finally resolve this issue.

**A/N: It should be noted that I've never actually seen someone go into labor so I'm mostly relying on what I've learned from television and "The Miracle of Life" (god I hated that film). Also, Hannah being in labor for a week in based off of my mom being in labor for a week when she was giving birth to my older brother (I thankfully, only kept her in labor for a day). **

…**Was that too much information? Sorry.**


	5. Truth

5: Truth

Garrus walked over to the table, making straight for Sidonis and Solana. "I know." He said, causing Solana and Sidonis to turn around.

"Know what?" Solana asked.

"I know that, according to John, Sidonis saved your life on Palaven." Garrus answered coolly. "Is that true?"

Sidonis' eyes widened "Who told him that?"

"Alice," Garrus said "Dad told her. Is it true?"

Sidonis seemed to hesitate a moment but Solana didn't "Yes."

…

Sidonis lifted another piece of rubble aside, revealing a dark hole. "Hello?" he called "Is anyone else still alive in there?" Behind him, he could hear Vakarian holding off the Reaper forces.

He saw something though the darkness, just a flicker of movement. He lifted another piece of rubble aside, making the hole large enough to crawl through. He could see someone hanging upside down, strapped into a chair. Sidonis crawled deeper into the hole, aware that he was climbing over the dead bodies of refugees who hadn't been lucky enough to survive the crash. He eventually got to the survivor, just as he heard her cough.

"Are you alright?" he asked, there was now enough room for him to rise to a crouch.

The survivor chucked before coughing "Y-You mean besides having a broken leg and being buried alive? Yeah, I'm just peachy…"

"Can you tell me your name?" Sidonis asked even though he already knew as he checked the area around him to see if it was safe to remove her.

"Sol-Solana…" she said before breaking out in another coughing fit.

Sidonis nodded; someone had been nice enough to give Solana their seat near the other entrance to the shuttle, and that had probably saved her life. It looked like she and the refugee to her right had been protected from the majority of the debris by the refugees to her left taking the brunt of the impact. Sidonis checked the other refugee, an elderly turian man by the looks of it, to see if they were still alive. He shook his head when he got no pulse, the elderly turian's heart must have given out when the shuttle had crashed.

"Alright Solana," he said calmly "I'm Lantar. I'm going to get you out of here okay?"

Solana nodded "Could you hurry up? I think all the blood's rushed to my head."

Beyond the rubble, he could hear the sounds of battle getting closer. Ignoring the conflict raging outside, he took out a knife "It looks like I'm going to need to cut you loose alright?"

Solana nodded "Just don't let me hit my head; I doubt getting a concussion would help matters."

Sidonis chuckled despite himself. Holding Solana up, he cut the strap keeping her in the seat and kept her from falling down, instead gently lowering her into his arms. Once he had her on the ground he asked "Do you think you can crawl?"

Solana shook her head "Did you hear the part about me having a broken leg?"

Sidonis sighed "Alright, I'm going to have to pull you out then."

Solana nodded and Sidonis grabbed her hands as her crawled back through the hole feet first, dragging Solana with him. It was slow going, and Sidonis was sure that at any moment the rubble would collapse on top of them and they would be crushed. Thankfully, he managed to pull Solana free without too much trouble.

He laid her on her back and moved to her leg, shaking his head at the sight. Her broken leg had already been in bad shape and the crash, combined with dragging her out of the rubble hadn't helped matters. "I'm going to need to set this." he told her calmly.

Solana nodded and grasped his shoulder tightly in her hand. "Do it."

Sidonis, with more practice than he liked to admit, carefully set the bone as best he could. Solana cried out briefly and her hand squeezed his shoulder but didn't acknowledge the pain in any other way. When he was done, Sidonis made a makeshift splint out of a couple long pieces of rubble and strips torn from his shirt. He moved to hold her in his arms, "Is anything else broken?" he asked.

Solana shook her head "I don't think so…" she smiled faintly and grabbed hold of one of Sidonis' hands "Thanks…"

…

"I didn't actually save your life." Sidonis said. "You wouldn't even have been in that position if I hadn't given up my spot for you."

Solana glared at Sidonis "We probably would have never made it to the next evac if you hadn't carried me for my dad, freeing him to shoot at any husks that attacked us."

"There were other survivors that helped too." Sidonis pointed out "And there was that krogan. What was his name? Brute?"

Garrus' brow plates rose "Grunt?"

Sidonis nodded "Yeah, he took out most of the Reaper forces we encountered."

Garrus made a mental note to thank Grunt the next time he saw him. "So that explains how you saved Solana-"

"I didn't really save-"

"Lantar, shut up." Solana snapped.

"-but how the _hell_ did you become a couple?" Garrus continued.

Solana looked back at her brother. "Well, obviously when I learned who he was, my first thought was that I wanted to beat him to a pulp. But then I started to wonder why he saved me- _don't_-" Solana said when Sidonis opened his mouth to object "Eventually I managed to corner him on the refugee ship and he immediately told me everything." She shrugged "After that… I don't know. We started talking and soon we were seeing more of each other. I talked to dad and got him to at least accept Lantar, and when the war was over I convinced him to come with us to Sur'kesh to pick up mom. The rest is sorta boring mushy stuff that would probably make you vomit."

Garrus digested this information. "Sidonis, can I talk to you in private?"

Solana's eyed her brother suspiciously, causing Garrus to sigh "We won't be out of sight Solana, I just need to speak to him alone."

Sidonis put a reassuring hand on Solana's shoulder "It's alright Sol," he looked at Garrus and stood up "Let's go."

…

Ashley screamed so loud that John was sure he blew out an eardrum. "Come on Ash! Just keep breathing! Just like we practiced! Come on!"

Ashley glared at John "You ever do this to me again and I will rip off your fucking balls!"

John smirked "I thought you wanted a whole herd of children?"

"Fine, then next time, _you _carry the kid."

At the end of the cot, where she was ready to catch the baby, Chakwas said calmly "I can see the head Ashley. Just one more push."

With a determined look in her eyes, Ashley gave one last valiant push and released a mighty scream.

…

Garrus led Sidonis to where he had been talking to John a few minutes ago. Turning to face him, Garrus was surprised to see that Sidonis wasn't afraid. They stood there in silence for what seemed like ages (though in reality was probably closer to 15 seconds) before Garrus spoke. "I'm… not exactly sure what to say…" he admitted "It never really occurred to me that you would try to make up for what you did…" he gave Sidonis a hard look "Did you save Sol just because she was my sister?"

Sidonis glanced away "Well… when I was on that shuttle, I saw your sister and father trying to get on but being rejected because there was no more room. At the time I didn't actually _know_ that they were related to you, but there are not many turians off of Invictus with those colony markings ya know? So I figured it was probably a safe bet that they were related to you so I thought 'Hey, why should I escape when they can't?' So I gave your sister my spot on the shuttle."

Garrus nodded "I thought that was the reason." He hesitated "Why did you betray me Lantar?"

"I told you, they were going to kill me if I didn't."

Garrus shook his head "There's more to it than that, I know there is, I know _you_ Lantar, you may not be the bravest guy, but you were loyal to your friends."

Sidonis sighed, still not meeting Garrus' eyes "They… did things to me… horrible things…" he rolled up his sleeve and Garrus' eyes widened. Most of Sidonis' arm had been scraped completely clean of plates, leaving jagged scars that were only just starting to heal.

"But after you agreed what kept you from telling us what happened, telling _me_?" Garrus asked.

Sidonis looked at his feet "You… you never been on the receiving side of Tarak's torture… the scaling wasn't what broke me. He… when he was done, he held a sort of power over me, I was terrified of him… that if I didn't do as he asked, he'd…" Sidonis looked up "I heard that he died in the attack. Thank you for killing him."

Garrus' mandibles shifted into a faint grin "Don't thank me, Shepard's the one who killed him. I was too busy lying on the floor with half my face blown off."

Sidonis looked away "I'm sorry."

Garrus shook his head "I don't blame you for the scars," he grinned a little "Truth be told, I actually like them." Sidonis chuckled and for a brief moment, it was like they were back on Omega, laughing at another of Garrus' stories about Shepard.

Sidonis hesitated "So does this mean you forgive me?"

Garrus sighed "It's not that easy Sidonis… I can't just act like nothing ever happened"

Sidonis nodded "I know, I just… I really do love your sister Garrus, more than I thought was possible, but I don't want to get in between you two."

Garrus snorted "Do you really think at this point she'd _let_ you leave?"

"Probably not," Sidonis admitted "But I don't want you two to hate each other just because of me."

Garrus looked in the direction of the mess where everyone was sitting "Listen… if your feelings for my sister are real, I won't stand in your way." He turned back to Sidonis, his expression hard "But if you hurt her, I will not hesitate to finish you off."

Sidonis nodded "I guess that's all I can ask for."

They were walking back to join the others when Ashley let out an extremely loud scream. When it faded away, Garrus heard something else:

The crying of a baby.

…

Ashley went limp as the baby finally slipped free of her body, breathing heavily. John smiled as he heard his new son crying and kissed Ashley's forehead "You did it Ash, he's here."

"_She's_ here" Chakwas corrected.

John's head snapped around so fast that he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Huh?"

"See for yourself," Chakwas said with a smile, handing the wailing infant over to John, having already cut the umbilical.

John's eyebrows shot up "Yep, that's a girl."

Ashley opened her eyes as John gave her the baby "A girl? But… Dr. Morris said it was a boy…"

Chakwas shrugged "A mistake, it happens; probably a glitch in the ultra-sound."

Ashley sighed and cradled her daughter in her arms, a small smile touching her lips.

John's shoulder's sagged "But… I bought all this boy stuff for him- er, her."

Ashley glared at her husband, she knew how excited he'd been when they'd learned it was a boy, but right now, she was too tired to be sympathetic "John, shut up and say hello to your new daughter."

John sighed and leaned down next to Ashley. He smiled when their daughter quieted down and opened her eyes, revealing them to be the same brown as Ash's. "I guess it's not the end of the world." He reached out a finger and chuckled when the baby grabbed at it. Then he did something that nobody would have expected from the legendary Commander Shepard:

He cooed.

"Hey little girl," he said sweetly "I'm your daddy," he put an arm around Ashley. "And this is your mommy. Welcome to the family."

Perhaps he had merely imagined it, but John could have sworn the newborn waved hello. "What are we going to name her?" he asked.

Ashley shrugged "I don't suppose there's a feminine version of 'David' is there?"

John shook his head, "Not that I know of."

Ashley suddenly thought back to her conversation with Alice the previous night by that pond in the Presidium Gardens. She smiled "I have an idea."

…

"Say hello to Lily Ashley Shepard." John said as he opened the medbay doors carrying the now sleeping Lily in a bundle of blankets in his arms. Everyone rushed over to say hello to the newest member of the Shepard family. First up was Hannah, who smiled as she held her granddaughter while Carn looked over her shoulder, the same smile plastered on his face. Next up was Miranda, who said as she held the newborn that missing her dinner with the ambassador was "Definitely worth it". EDI merely looked at Lily curiously when she held her, while Joker teased John good-naturedly. Wrex held Lily with surprising tenderness, and Javik just looked at Lily and said "Not as cute as a larva." Jacob held Lily like an old pro, flashing his pearly white teeth in a broad smile when Brynn brought Sabrina near and the slightly older infant looked at the newborn like it was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. Liara was very reluctant to hold Lily, but nobody could miss the way she smiled when she was finally coaxed into doing so.

Eventually, everyone got to welcome the newborn to the Normandy family, except for two people: Garrus and Alice.

John noticed his sister hanging near the edge of the crowd. He carried Lily over to her and said with a smile "Come on and say hello to your new niece." He urged.

Alice shook her head, talking a mile a minute "Are you sure? I'm not sure. I don't know how to properly hold her. What if I hurt her? No maybe I should just-"

"_Alice_" John said sternly, he'd never seen his sister so nervous.

Reluctantly, Alice allowed John to put Lily in her arms, showing her how to correctly hold the newborn. Looking down at her niece's peaceful little face, Alice felt a smile tug at her lips.

Garrus, who had been watching all this from afar, felt a strange feeling well up in his chest at the sight of Alice cradling the baby. Taking a deep breath, he walked over to Alice and looked over her shoulder at Lily.

"Hey," he said softly.

Alice looked at Garrus and smiled "Hey," she gave Lily back to John and turned to him fully. "Do you want to talk?"

"Yeah," Garrus and Alice moved away from the group and found a place where they could talk privately. After an awkward moment of silence, Garrus spoke up. "I'm sorry," he said "I've been a real ass these last few days haven't I?"

Alice grabbed his hand and gave it a gently squeeze "I haven't exactly been the most supportive person in the world either."

"But you were right," Garrus said "I did have my head too far up my ass to listen."

"Yeah but I should have trusted you more." She sighed "I guess we're both kinda to blame here." She looked deep into his eyes "Do you forgive me?"

Garrus gave her hand a squeeze "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes."

"Yeah,"

Garrus pulled Alice into his arms and gently pressed his forehead against hers "When I saw you holding Lily, when I saw your smile, I realized something."

"What?" Alice asked

"I want that," he answered "I want to have a family with you one day. But…" he looked away.

Alice turned his head back to meet her eyes "But what?"

Garrus sighed "You were right, we… _I'm _not ready to get married. We still have a lot of issues to work out. But I'm willing to wait if it means I can one day have a family with you."

Alice smiled and kissed Garrus, wrapping her arms around his neck. Garrus returned the kiss pulling her closer to him, and thinking that maybe… just maybe… they could get this to work.

**A/N: Aaaaand that's a wrap! Check back in (hopefully) a week and check out the first chapter of my 9-chapter fic "Taken" to see what is next in store for Alice, Garrus, John, and the crew of the Normandy.**

**Normally I just say "As always, please let me know what I did well and what I can improve on" but this time I really do need the feedback, especially in how well I did with the emotional parts. The primary reason I'm posting these stories up here (other than for fun) is because I want to improve my writing ability. So please, constructive criticism is very welcome!**


End file.
